CLUB legend John Trollope dug the first hole of a new £2.4m sports hub for the Swindon Harriers Athletics Club.

High sheriff of Wiltshire Nicky Alberry helped the former Swindon Town manager and player for more than 40 years make a start on the multimillion-pound facility.

The hub, including a state-of-the-art outdoor pitch and pavilion, will help the Swindon Town Football in The Community Trust expand the number of community-focused projects it runs for all ages, aiming to tackling issues relating to health, social inclusion, education and sports participation.

It was partly funded by a £1m grant from the Premier League and the FA Facilities Fund.

Jon Holloway, STFITC Trust’s Head of Trust, said: “This is a momentous day for everyone that has been involved in this project. It has taken many years and a considerable amount of hard work to get to this stage.

"The long term vision and dream of creating a state-of-the-art community facility in the heart of Swindon will start taking shape. This is the biggest day in the Football in the Community Trust’s history as this new facility will benefit thousands of local people.

"We would like to sincerely thank all our funders, partners, sponsors, supporters and participants who have played their part in helping us get to this stage. We look forward to creating a facility that the people of Swindon can be proud of.”

The project has been developed in partnership with Swindon Borough Council. Councillor Keith Williams, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member responsible for property services, said: “This facility will be a fantastic asset to the local community and it is incredibly exciting that building work is now about to start.

“What makes this project so exciting is that it will benefit people of all ages, from grass roots sports to health and wellbeing programmes aimed at older members of the community.

"It will also provide a great boost to Swindon Harriers Athletics Club who will have a new base from which to grow and encourage even more people to take up sport.”

Paul Thorogood, chief executive of the Football Foundation, said: “Funding from the Premier League and The FA Facilities Fund, delivered by the Foundation, will support the club in developing a brand new facility for the local community. Made possible by investment from the Premier League, The FA and the Government, via Sport England, the Fund is supporting the grassroots game by improving access to high-quality football facilities across the country.”

Construction on the site will begin in February and could be open to the community as soon as the summer.